Cher/Biography
Life and career Early life Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946. Her father, John Sarkisian, was an Armenian truck driver with drug and gambling problems, and her mother, Jackie Jean Crouch, was an occasional model and bit-part actress with Irish, English, German, and Cherokee ancestry. Cher's father was rarely home when she was an infant, ultimately divorcing Crouch when Cher was ten months old. They would marry and divorce twice more. After the first divorce from Sarkisian, Crouch married another man. The third of Crouch's eight marriages was to actor John Southall, the father of Cher's half-sister, Georganne.buttheads By then they were living in Los Angeles, and Crouch was pursuing an acting career while working as a waitress. She changed her name to Georgia Holt and earned minor roles in films and on television. Holt secured acting parts for her daughters as extras on the television show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet(IS THE BEST). Although her mother's romantic relationship with Southall ended when Cher was nine years old, she considers him her father and remembers him as a "good-natured man who turned belligerent when he drank too much". As Holt remarried and divorced, the family moved from place to place (including New York, Texas and California) and often had little money. Cher remembered using rubber bands at one time to hold her shoes together. At one point, Holt had to put Cher in an orphanage for several weeks. Although they met every day, both Holt and Cher found the experience traumatic. Cher's family first noticed her creativity when in the fifth grade, she produced for her teacher and class a performance of the musical Oklahoma!. She organized a group of girls, directing and choreographing their dance routines. Since she could not convince boys to participate, Cher acted the male roles and sang their songs. By age nine, she had developed an unusually low voice. Fascinated by film stars, Cher's role model was Audrey Hepburn, particularly due to her role in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. Cher began to pattern her outfits and behavior after the eccentric, fast-living character portrayed by Hepburn. She was disappointed by the absence of dark-haired Hollywood actresses whom she could emulate then. Cher had wanted to be famous since childhood but felt unattractive and untalented, later commenting, "I couldn't think of anything that I could do ... I didn't think I'd be a singer or dancer. I just thought, well, I'll be famous. That was my goal." In 1961, Holt married bank manager Gilbert LaPiere, who adopted Cher and her half-sister and enrolled them in a private school called Montclair Prep, in the prosperous community of Encino, Los Angeles. The students of Montclair Prep were from affluent families. The school's upper-class environment presented a challenge for Cher; biographer Connie Berman wrote, "she stood out from the others in both her striking appearance and outgoing personality." A former classmate commented, "I'll never forget seeing Cher for the first time. She was so special ... She was like a movie star, right then and there ... She said she was going to be a movie star and we knew she would." Despite not being an excellent student, Cher was intelligent and creative, according to Berman. She earned good grades, excelling in French and English classes. As an adult, she would discover that she had dyslexia. Cher achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior: she performed songs for students during the lunch hours and surprised peers when she wore a midriff-baring top, being the first young woman in her social circle to do so. She later recalled, "I was never really in school. I was always thinking about when I was grown up and famous." 1960s: Sonny and Cher's rise and fall from pop stardom in 1966]] At age 16, Cher dropped out of school, left her mother's house, and moved with a friend into Los Angeles, where she took acting classes and worked to support herself. She danced in small clubs along Hollywood's Sunset Strip, introducing herself to performers, managers, and agents. According to biographer Connie Berman, "Cher did not hesitate to approach anyone she thought could help her get a break, make a new contact, or get an audition." During this period, she had an affair with actor Warren Beatty. Cher met American singer Sonny Bono,(IS NOT WITH HER ANY MORE) 11 years her senior, in November 1962 when he was working for record producer Phil Spector. Cher's friend moved out of their apartment, and Cher accepted Sonny's offer to be his housekeeper. Sonny introduced Cher to Spector, who used her as a backup singer on many recordings, including the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling". Spector produced her first single, the unsuccessful "Ringo, I Love You", issued under the name "Bonnie Jo Mason". Still finding her solo singing voice, Cher sang the song in a very low key; she commented, "I sounded too much like a boy. Everyone thought it was a faggot song." Sonny recalled, "I didn't notice her till I heard her sing. She was so good and I just had to know her better ... When I learned she was also an actress I thought ...'Now, there's another one of those cool, dedicated career types who is so bent on becoming a star. She wouldn't give the time of day to a guy like me.' I couldn't have been more wrong!" Cher and Sonny became close friends, eventual lovers, and performed their own wedding ceremony in a hotel room in Tijuana, Mexico, in October 1964. Although Sonny had wanted to launch Cher as a solo artist, she encouraged him to perform with her because she suffered from stage fright, and so he began joining her onstage, singing the harmonies. Cher disguised her nervousness by looking at Sonny; she later commented that she sang to the people through him. In late 1964, they emerged as a duo called Caesar & Cleo, releasing the poorly received singles "Do You Wanna Dance?", "Love Is Strange" and "Let the Good Times Roll". By the end of 1964, Cher was signed to Liberty Records' Imperial imprint, and Sonny came along as her producer. Her second solo single, "Dream Baby", released under the name "Cherilyn", received airplay in Los Angeles. Encouraged by the song's regional success, Cher and Sonny worked together on her debut solo album, All I Really Want to Do (1965), later described by Allmusic's Tim Sendra as "one of the stronger folk-pop records of the era". The album reached the Billboard 200 top 20, remaining on the chart for six months. Its title track, a cover version of Bob Dylan's song, peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, the Byrds had released their own version of the same song. When competition on the singles charts started between Cher and the Byrds, the group's record label began to promote the B-side of the Byrds' single. Roger McGuinn of the Byrds commented, "We loved the Cher version ... We didn't want to hassle. So we just turned our record over." By early 1965, Caesar and Cleo had begun calling themselves Sonny & Cher. Following the recording of "I Got You Babe", they travelled to England in July 1965 at the Rolling Stones' advice; Cher recalled, "they had told us ... that Americans just didn't get us and that if we were going to make it big, we were going to have to go to England." According to writer Cintra Wilson, "English newspaper photographers showed up when S&C were thrown out of the London Hilton of their outfits the night they arrived—literally overnight, they were stars. London went gaga for the heretofore-unseen S&C look, which was neither mod nor rocker." "I Got You Babe" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became, according to Allmusic's Bruce Eder, "one of the biggest-selling and most beloved pop/rock hits of the mid-'60s". As the song knocked the Beatles off the top of the British charts, English teenagers began to emulate Sonny and Cher's fashion style, such as bell-bottoms, striped pants, ruffled shirts, industrial zippers and fur vests. Upon their return to the US, the duo made several appearances on the teen-pop showcases Hullabaloo and Shindig! and completed a tour of some of the largest arenas in the US. Their shows attracted Cher look-alikes—"girls who were ironing their hair straight and dying it black, to go with their vests and bell-bottoms." Cher expanded her creative range by designing a clothing line . Sonny and Cher's first album, Look at Us, released for the Atco Records division of Atlantic Records, spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard 200 in 1965. Their smooth sound and warm harmonies became popular, and the duo successfully competed with the dominant British Invasion and Motown sounds of the era. Several mid-level hits followed, before "The Beat Goes On" returned the duo to the US top ten in 1967. Sonny and Cher charted 11 Billboard top 40 singles between 1965 and 1972, including six top-ten hits. At one point, they had five songs in the top 20, a feat equaled only by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. By the end of 1967, they had sold 40 million records worldwide and had become, according to Time magazine's Ginia Bellafante, rock's "it" couple. Cher's following releases kept her solo career fully competitive with her work with Sonny. The Sonny Side of Chér (1966) featured "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", a song with exotic-sounding Gypsy violins and a dramatic vocal delivery, which reached number two in America and became her first solo million-seller. Chér, also released in 1966, contained the Burt Bacharach and Hal David composition "Alfie", which was added to the credits of the American version of the 1966 film of the same name and became the first stateside version of the popular song. With Love, Chér (1968) included songs described by biographer Mark Bego as "little soap-opera stories set to rock music" such as the US top-ten hit "You Better Sit Down Kids". , 1967]] By the end of the 1960s, Sonny and Cher's music had ceased to chart. According to biographer Connie Berman, "the heavy, loud sound of groups like Jefferson Airplane and Cream made the folk-rock music of Sonny and Cher seem too bland." Cher later commented, "I loved the new sound of Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the electric-guitar oriented bands. Left to myself, I would have changed with the times because the music really turned me on. But Sonny didn't like it—and that was that." Their monogamous, anti-drug lifestyle had lost its popular appeal among American youths during the period of the sexual revolution and the rise of the drug culture. According to biographer Mark Bego, "in spite of their revolutionary unisex clothes, Sonny and Cher were quite 'square' when it came to sex and drugs." To recapture their young audience, the duo produced and starred in the film ''Good Times (1967), in which they were featured in childish skits. The movie was unsuccessful. Cher's next album, Backstage (1968), ran in diverse musical directions, including Brazilian jazz and anti-war protest settings, but was not a success. In 1969, she was dropped from Imperial Records. Sonny and Cher had been dropped from Atco; however, the label wanted to sign Cher for a solo album. 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) was recorded without the guidance of Sonny and incorporated experiments in blue-eyed soul; Allmusic's Mark Deming proclaimed it "the finest album of her career". Displeased with the 3614 Jackson Highway album, Sonny prevented Cher from releasing more recordings for Atco. Meanwhile, Sonny repeatedly cheated on Cher, and by the end of the 1960s their relationship had begun to unravel. According to People magazine, "Bono tried desperately to win her back, telling her he wanted to marry and start a family." They married after she gave birth to Chaz Bono, who was born Chastity Bono on March 4, 1969. That year, the duo spent $500,000 and mortgaged their home to make the film Chastity. Written and directed by Sonny, who did not appear in the movie, it tells the story of a young woman, played by Cher, searching for the meaning of life. The art film failed, putting the couple $190,000 in debt with back taxes. However, some critics noted that Cher showed signs of acting potential. At the lowest point of their career, Sonny and Cher put together a nightclub routine which relied on a more adult approach to sound and style. According to writer Cintra Wilson, "Their lounge act was so depressing, people started heckling them. Then Cher started heckling back. Sonny ... reprimanded her; then she'd heckle Sonny". The heckling became a highlight of the act and made it a success. Television executives took note, and the couple began making guest appearances on prime-time shows, in which they presented a "new, sophisticated, and mature" image. Cher adopted alluring, low-cut gowns that would become her signature outfits. 1970s: Television and musical stardom and experiments on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ]] CBS head of programming Fred Silverman offered Sonny and Cher their own television program after he noticed them as guest-hosts on The Merv Griffin Show in 1971. The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour premiered as a summer replacement series on August 1, 1971, and had six episodes. Because it was a ratings success, the couple returned that December with a full-time show. Watched by more than 30 million viewers weekly during its three-year run, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour received 12 Emmy Award nominations. : The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour received 12 Emmy Award nominations; : Seen weekly by more than 30 million viewers. Praised for their comedic timing, deadpan Cher mocked Sonny about his looks and short stature. According to biographer Connie Berman, they "exuded an aura of warmth, playfulness, and caring that only enhanced their appeal. Viewers were further enchanted when a young Chastity also appeared on the show. They seemed like a perfect family." Cher honed her acting skills in sketch comedy roles such as the brash housewife Laverne, the sardonic waitress Rosa, and historical vamps, including Cleopatra and Miss Sadie Thompson. : Cher's sketch roles on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour; : Examples of the historical vamps played by Cher on the show. The designer clothing Cher wore were part of the show's attraction, and her style influenced the fashion trends of the 1970s. In 1971, Sonny and Cher signed with the Kapp Records division of Decca Records, and the latter singer released the single "Classified 1A", in which she sings from the point of view of a soldier who bleeds tUo death in Vietnam. Written by Sonny, who felt that her first solo single on the label had to be poignant and topical, radio station programmers quickly rejected the song as uncommercial. Since Sonny's first attempts at reviving their recording career as a duo had also been unsuccessful, Kapp Records recruited Snuff Garrett to work with them. He produced Cher's first solo num which "proved that ... Garrett knew more about Cher's voice and her persona as a singer than Sonny did", writes Cher biographer Mark Bego. It became the biggest-selling single in the history of MCA Records then and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. : Grammy Award nomination for "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"; : The single became the biggest selling in the history of MCA Records. Released in September 1971, the Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves album features cover versions of contemporary hits such as "The Way of Love", a US top-ten single that established Cher's more confident image as a recording artist. : Release date of Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, "The Way of Love" in the US top ten; : The album featured cover versions of contemporary hits such as the "The Way of Love", which "solidified the image of a new, more confident and powerful Cher." In 1972, Cher released the all-ballad set Foxy Lady,9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 demonstrating the evolution of her vocal abilities. That year, Garrett quit as producer after disagreeing with Sonny about the kind of material Cher should record. At Sonny's insistence, in 1973 Cher released an album of standards called Bittersweet White Light, which was unsuccessful. She earned her second number-one single that year with "Half-Breed", a song about the daughter of a Cherokee mother and a white father, from the album of the same name. Both the album and the single were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Cher's third number-one single was "Dark Lady", in 1974, from the namesake album. Later that year, she released a Greatest Hits album that, according to Billboard magazine, proved her to be "one of the most consistent hitmakers of the past five years", as well as a "proven superstar who always sell records." Between 1971 and 1974, Sonny and Cher's career was revived with four albums released under Kapp Records and MCA Records, including the top-ten charting singles "All I Ever Need Is You" and "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done". Cher commented on her hectic schedule during this period: "I could do a whole album ... in three days ... We were on the road ... and we were doing the Sonny & Cher Show". in 1971]] By late 1972, Cher's marriage with Sonny was over, but appearances were maintained until 1974. "The public still thinks we are married," Sonny wrote in his diary at the time, "and that's the way it has to be." In February 1974, Sonny filed for a separation, citing "irreconcilable differences". A week later, Cher countered with a divorce suit and charged Sonny with "involuntary servitude", claiming that he withheld money from her and deprived her of her rightful share of their earnings. The couple battled in court over finances and the custody of Chastity, which was eventually granted to Cher. Their divorce was finalized on June 26, 1975. During the divorce proceedings, Cher had a two-year relationship with record executive David Geffen, who freed her from her business arrangement with Sonny Bono, under which she was required to work exclusively for Cher Enterprises, the company he ran. Geffen secured a $2.5 million deal for Cher with Warner Bros. Records and reunited her with Spector to record and release a test single to launch Warner-Spector Records, Spector's Warner specialty label. : Geffen cutting a deal with Spector and Warner Bros. Records to record and release one Cher test single under Warner-Spector Records; : Spector's intention of using the single to launch his Warner specialty label; : $2.5 million deal with Warner. The resulting 1974 single, "A Woman's Story", and a follow-up duet with Harry Nilsson, "A Love Like Yours", were commercial failures. Both singles received late recognition; DMA magazine described the latter as having "one of the catchiest choral hooks ever recorded".Late recognition for "A Woman's Story" and "A Love Like Yours": * ; * : "A Love Like Yours" containing "one of the catchiest choral hooks ever recorded". In 1974, Cher won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Sonny went on without Cher and renamed the show The Sonny Comedy Revue. It was canceled after six weeks. Cher returned to television with a solo show on February 16, 1975. Entitled Cher, it began as a highly rated special with guests Flip Wilson, Elton John, and Bette Midler. Cloris Leachman and Jack Albertson won Emmy Awards for their guest appearances, and the show received nine more Emmy Award nominations that year. The Cher show was produced by David Geffen and centered on Cher's songs, monologues, comedy performance, and her variation of clothing, which was the largest for a weekly TV show. : Cher's wardobre on the Cher show was the biggest ever for a weekly TV show; : Description of the Cher show. Early critical reception was favorable; Los Angeles Times exclaimed that "Sonny without Cher was a disaster. Cher without Sonny, on the other hand, could be the best thing that's happened to weekly television this season." on the Cher show, 1975]] Cher lasted for less than a year, replaced by a Sonny and Cher show; she said, "doing a show alone was more than I could handle." On June 30, 1975, three days after finalizing her divorce from Sonny, Cher married rock musician Gregg Allman, co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band. She filed for divorce nine days later, citing his heroin and liquor problems, but they reconciled and remained married until 1979. : Allman as the co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band and his heroin and liquor problems; : Cher marrying Allman on June 30, 1975, three days after her divorce became final; Cher filing for divorce nine days after her wedding; Cher and Allman reconciling and remaining married until 1979. They had one son, Elijah Blue, on July 10, 1976. Under the rubric "Allman and Woman", they released the 1977 duet album Two the Hard Way, later regarded by History as "the worst of either artist's respective career". Sonny and Cher's TV reunion, The Sonny and Cher Show, lasted from February 1976 to mid-1977. Cher's reportedly extravagant lifestyle, her troubled relationship with Allman, and Sonny and Cher's insult humour HIabout their divorce caused a public backlash that contributed to the show's failure. : Sonny and Cher's put-down humor in the context of a "painful" divorce; : The adverse publicity of Cher's troubled relationship with Gregg Allman and her much-reported high lifestyle had created a public backlash that contributed to the failure of The Sonny and Cher Show. Encouraged by Geffen, Cher began work on her first album for Warner in 1975. According to biographer Mark Bego, "it was their intention that album was going to make millions of fans around the world take her seriously as a rock star, and not just a pop singer." Despite Cher's efforts to develop her musical range by listening to artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan, the resulting album, Stars, received negative reviews. Janet Maslin of The Village Voice wrote, "Cher is just no rock and roller ... Image, not music, is Cher Bono's main ingredient for both records and TV." The album has since become a cult classic and is generally considered among her best work. Cher's next albums, I'd Rather Believe in You (1976) and Cherished (1977), the latter a return to her pop style at Warner's producers insistence, were also unsuccessful. She returned to prime time television with the specials Cher... Special (1978), nominated for three Emmy Awards, and Cher and Other Fantasies (1979). : Emmy Award nominations for Cher ... Special; In 1978, she legally changed her name from Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere Bono Allman to Cher, to eliminate the use of four surnames. A single mother with two children, Cher realized that she had to make a choice about the direction of her singing career. Deciding to temporarily abandon her desire to be a rock singer, she signed with Casablanca Records and made a major comeback with the single "Take Me Home" and the album of the same name, both of which capitalized on the disco craze. They became instant hits, remained bestsellers for more than half of 1979, and were certified gold by the RIAA. : Gold certifications of the album Take Me Home and the single of the same name; : Both the album and the single becoming instant hits and remaining bestsellers for more than half of 1979. Sales of the album may have been boosted by the image of a scantily clad Cher in a Viking outfit on its cover. : Scantily clad Cher in a Viking outfit on the Take Me Home album cover; : Sales of the album may have been boosted by its cover. Despite her initial lack of enthusiasm with disco music, she changed her mind after the success, commenting, "I never thought I would want to do disco ... but it's terrific! It's great music to dance to. I think that danceable music is what everybody wants." Encouraged by the popularity of Take Me Home, Cher planned to return to rock music in her next album, Prisoner (1979). The album's cover featured Cher draped in chains as a "prisoner of the press", causing controversy among feminist groups for her perceived portrayal of a sex slave. : Cher's sex slave image on the Prisoner album cover causing controversy among feminist groups; : Cher appearing on the album's "memorable" cover as a "'prisoner' of the press". Cher included rock songs, which made the disco release seem unfocused and thus a commercial failure. Prisoner produced the single "Hell on Wheels", featured on the soundtrack of the film Roller Boogie. The song exploited the late 1970s roller-skating fad and contributed to its popularity. During this time, she dated Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS. 1980s: Musical missteps, Broadway, film stardom and return to musical success In 1980, alongside Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder, Cher wrote her last Casablanca disco recording, "Bad Love", for the film Foxes. She formed the rock band Black Rose that year with her then-lover, guitarist Les Dudek. Although Cher was the lead singer, she did not receive top billing because she wanted to create the impression that all band members were equal. Since she was easily recognized when she performed with the band, she developed a punk look by cutting her hair and dyeing it bright yellow, green, and pink. Despite appearances on television, the band failed to earn concert dates. Their album Black Rose received unfavorable reviews; Cher told Rolling Stone magazine, "The critics panned us, and they didn't attack the record. They attacked me. It was like, 'How dare Cher sing rock & roll?'" During the band's active period, Cher was a successful nightclub singer in Las Vegas, earning $300,000 a week. Black Rose later broke up in 1981. That year, she released the UK top-five hit "Dead Ringer for Love", a duet with musician Meat Loaf, later described by Allmusic's Donald A. Guarisco as "one of the more inspired rock duets of the 1980's". In 1982, Columbia Records released the album I Paralyze, later deemed by biographer Mark Bego as Cher's "strongest and most consistent solo album in years" despite its disappointing sales. With decreasing album sales and a lack of successful singles, Cher decided to further develop her acting career. Her earliest entertainment ambitions had been in film, as opposed to music; but she had no films to her credit except the poorly received Good Times and Chastity, and the Hollywood establishment did not take her seriously as an actor. She moved to New York in 1982 to take acting lessons with Lee Strasberg, founder of the Actors Studio, but never enrolled after her plans changed. She auditioned for and was signed by director Robert Altman (whose wife was a friend of Cher's mother) for the Broadway stage production Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. She played a member of a James Dean fan club holding a 20-year reunion. That year, Altman cast her in the film adaptation of the show, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. Director Mike Nichols, who had seen Cher onstage in Jimmy Dean, offered her the part of Meryl Streep's lesbian lover and plant co-worker in the controversial film Silkwood. When it premiered in 1983, audiences questioned Cher's ability as an actress. She recalls attending a film preview during which the audience laughed when they saw her name in the credits. For her engaging and nearly flawless performance, Cher was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a Golden Globe Award. In 1985, Cher formed the film production company Isis. Her next film, Mask (1985), reached number two at the box office and was Cher's first critical and commercial success as a leading actress. : Mask reaching number two at the box office; : Mask being Cher's first critical and commercial success as a leading actress. For her role as a drug addict biker with a teenaged son who has a severe physical deformity, she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. During the making of the film, Cher conflicted with director Peter Bogdanovich, and her anti-establishment behavior caused her to be ignored in the Academy Award nominations. She attended the 58th Academy Awards in a tarantula-like costume "to show her scorn for the 'system'", according to authors James Parish and Michael Pitts. The incident was highly publicized. In May 1986, Cher made her first guest appearance on the Late Night with David Letterman show. When asked by Letterman why she had been reluctant to be a guest on his program, Cher replied that she thought he was an "asshole". The audience clamored, and he felt offended and embarrassed. In 1987, she returned to the show with Sonny to sing "I Got You Babe" for the first time in ten years. , 1987]] By 1987, Cher was receiving attention for her Jack LaLanne Health Clubs commercials and controversial lifestyle, including her tattoos, plastic surgeries, exhibionist fashion sense, and affairs with younger men. : Cher receiving attention for her Jack LaLanne Health Clubs commercials; : Cher's controversial lifestyle during the 1980s. She dated actors Val Kilmer, Eric Stoltz, and Tom Cruise, hockey player Ron Duguay, film producer Josh Donen, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, and Rob Camilletti, an 18-years-younger bagel baker she met in 1986.Cher's affairs with younger men during the 1980s: * : Val Kilmer; * : Eric Stoltz; * : Tom Cruise; * : Ron Duguay; * : Josh Donen; * : Richie Sambora; * : Rob Camilletti. Dubbed "Bagel Boy" by the press, Camilletti made headlines after he was charged with assault in 1988 for ramming Cher's Ferrari into a paparazzo's car. The couple broke up the next year. Cher starred in three films in 1987. In ''Suspect, she played a public defender who is both helped and romanced by one of the jurors in the homicide case she is handling. Along with Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer, she starred as one of three divorcees involved with a mysterious and wealthy visitor from hell who comes to a small New England town in the comedy horror The Witches of Eastwick. The film grossed $31.8 million in domestic film rentals. Cher accepted a lead role in Norman Jewison's romantic comedy Moonstruck, which grossed $34.3 million in domestic film rentals. For her performance as an Italian widow in love with her fiancée's younger brother, Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. : Cher receiving the Academy Award for her performance in Moonstruck; : Cher receiving the Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film. Received with a standing ovation during her Oscar acceptance, she said, "I don't think that this award means that I'm somebody, but maybe I'm on my way." By 1988, Cher had become one of the most acclaimed and bankable actresses of the decade, commanding $1 million per film. : Cher as one of the most acclaimed actresses of the 1980s; : Cher taken seriously as a bankable star, commanding $1 million per film. That year, she released the fragrance Uninhibited, which earned about $15 million in its first year sales, and the exercise book Forever Fit, which sold about 100,000 copies in 1988. In 1987, Cher signed with Geffen Records and revived her musical career with what DMA magazine describes as "her most impressive string of hits to date", establishing her as a "serious rock and roller ... a crown that she'd worked long and hard to capture". Michael Bolton, Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, and Richie Sambora produced her first Geffen album, the RIAA-certified platinum Cher. : Producers of Cher's first Geffen album, Cher; : Platinum certification for Cher. It features the rock ballad "I Found Someone", her first top-ten hit in more than eight years. Certified triple platinum by the RIAA, Cher's 20th studio album Heart of Stone (1989) has sold 11 million copies worldwide. : Heart of Stone has sold 11 million copies; : Triple platinum certification for the album. The music video for the album's first single, "If I Could Turn Back Time", caused controversy due to Cher's performance on a Navy warship, straddling a cannon, and wearing a see-through bodystocking that revealed her tattoed buttocks. : Cher wearing a see-through bodystocking in the "If I Could Turn Back Time" music video; ; Cher dancing on a battleship and straddling a cannon in the music video; : Cher performing on a Navy warship in the "controversial" clip; : Cher's tattoed buttocks appearing in a leather thong in the music video. Television networks initially refused to air the video because of its partial nudity. : Many networks on television initially refused to air the video; : Partial nudity. Responding to pressure from older viewers, MTV agreed to show the video from 9 pm to 6 am. The song was an international number-one hit and quickly became one of Cher's most successful singles. In 1989, Cher launched the Heart of Stone Tour (also known as The Cher Extravaganza), which continued until 1990. : Cher went on tour in 1989–90 (The Cher Extravaganza); : Cher was on the Heart of Stone Tour in 1990. Most critics liked the tour's nostalgic nature and admired Cher's showmanship. Its parent television special Cher at the Mirage was filmed during a concert in Las Vegas. 1990s: Multimedia stardom, infomercial struggles, high-profile comeback and musical departure In her first film in three years, Mermaids (1990), Cher paid tribute to her mother as a woman who moves her two daughters from town to town at the end of a love affair. She conflicted with the film's first two directors, Lasse Hallstrom and Frank Oz, who were replaced by Richard Benjamin. Believing Cher would be the star attraction, the producers allowed her creative control for the film. Mermaids is considered a cult classic according to Berman. One of the two songs Cher recorded for the film's soundtrack, "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", topped the UK charts for five weeks and reached the top five in most European countries. : "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" recorded for the Mermaids soundtrack; : The song topping the UK charts for five weeks; : The song reaching top five in most European countries. Cher's final studio album for Geffen Records, Love Hurts (1991), stayed at number one in the UK for six weeks and produced four hit singles, including the UK top-ten hit "Love and Understanding". : Love Hurts producing four hit singles; : Cher's final studio album for Geffen Records; : Love Hurts staying at number one in the UK for six weeks. In later years, Cher commented that her Geffen label "hit years" had been especially significant to her, "because I was getting to do songs that I really loved ... songs that really represented me, and they were popular!" In 1992, she embarked on the Love Hurts Tour and released two fitness videos, CherFitness: A New Attitude and CherFitness: Body Confidence, which became big sellers in the genre. : Cher embarking on the Love Hurts Tour; : Cher's fitness videos. That year, the compilation album Cher's Greatest Hits: 1965-1992, released in Europe, peaked at number one in the UK for seven weeks. It featured three new songs. : Cher's Greatest Hits: 1965–1992 peaking at number one in the UK for seven weeks; : The compilation album's Europe-only release and its three new songs. }} Partly because of her difficult experience with Mermaids, Cher turned down leading roles in the films The War of the Roses and Thelma & Louise. According to Berman, "After the success of Moonstruck, she was so worried about her next career move that she was overly cautious." In the early 1990s, Cher contracted the Epstein-Barr virus and developed chronic fatigue syndrome, which left her too exhausted to sustain her music and film careers. : Cher developing chronic fatigue syndrome; : Cher falling victim to Epstein-Barr virus and becoming too exhausted to sustain her career. Because she needed to earn money and was not healthy enough to work on other projects, she starred in infomercials launching health, beauty, and diet products, which earned her close to $10 million in fees. : Cher starring in infomercials because she "needed the money" and was "still too sick to work on other projects"; : Infomercials earning Cher close to $10 million in fees. The skits were parodied on David Letterman's show and Saturday Night Live and critics considered a sellout, many suggesting her film career was over. : Critics questioning Cher's movie career as dead; : Infomercials attacked as a sellout by critics; : The skits being spoofed on TV shows. She later told Ladies Home Journal, "Suddenly I became the Infomercial Queen and it didn't occur to me that people would focus on that and strip me of all my other things." Cher made cameo appearances in the Robert Altman films The Player (1992) and Prêt-à-Porter (1994). In late 1994, she started a mail-order catalogue business, Sanctuary, selling Gothic-themed products. She contributed a rock version of "I Got You Babe" to MTV's animated series Beavis and Butt-head. Alongside Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry, and Eric Clapton, in 1995 she topped the UK charts with the charity single "Love Can Build a Bridge". Later that year, she signed with Warner Music UK's label WEA Records and recorded an album titled It's a Man's World, which came out of her conceit of covering men's songs from a woman's point of view. In general, critics favored the album, some saying her voice had improved. Released in Europe at the end of 1995 and in North America, under Reprise Records, in the summer of 1996, It's a Man's World spawned the UK top-ten singles "Walking in Memphis" and "One by One". On December 24, 1995, Cher starred in the ITV special Christmas with Cher. In 1996, she played the wife of a businessman who hires a hitman to murder her in the Chazz Palminteri-scripted dark comedy film Faithful, which was poorly received by critics. Despite being praised for her role, she refused to promote the film, claiming it was "horrible". : Summary of Faithful, Cher being praised for her role in the film; : Cher refusing to promote the film and calling it "horrible". Cher achieved a comeback when she starred in and made her directing debut with a segment in the abortion-themed anthology If These Walls Could Talk (1996), which drew the highest ratings for an original HBO movie to that point. : Cher achieving a comeback with If These Walls Could Talk, summary of the film; : The film drew the highest ratings ever for an original HBO movie. For her role as a doctor who is murdered by an anti-abortion fanatic, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film. : Cher's role in If These Walls Could Talk; : Cher's being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film. ]] Following the death of Sonny Bono in a skiing accident in 1998, Cher delivered a moving eulogy at his funeral. She called him "the most unforgettable character" she had met. On May 20, 1998, she paid tribute to him by hosting the affectionate CBS special Sonny & Me: Cher Remembers. They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television. Later that year, Cher published the book The First Time, a collection of autobiographical essays of "first-time" events in her life, which critics praised for revealing the singer to be down to earth and genuine. Although the manuscript was almost finished when Sonny died, she could not decide whether to include his death in the book; she feared being criticized for capitalizing on the event. Cher later told Rolling Stone, "I couldn't ignore it, could I? I might have if I cared more about what people think than what I know is right for me." Cher's 23rd studio album Believe (1998) marked a musical departure for her, as it comprised dance-pop songs, many of which captured the "disco-era essence"; Cher said, 'It's not that I think this is a '70s album ... but there's a thread, a consistency running through it that I love.'" Believe was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA and went on to be certified gold or platinum in 39 countries. : Believe was certified gold or platinum in 39 countries; : Quadruple platinum certification for the album. The album's title track reached number one in more than 25 countries and sold over 11 million copies worldwide. : "Believe" selling over 11 million copies worldwide; : "Believe" reaching number one in more than 25 countries. It became the best-selling recording of 1998 and 1999, and Cher's biggest hit to date. : "Believe" as the best-selling recording of 1998; : "Believe" as the best-selling recording of 1999; : "Believe" becoming the biggest hit of Cher's career. "Believe" topped the UK charts for seven weeks and became the biggest-selling single of all time by a female artist in the UK. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. In January 1999, Cher performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl XXXIII. She sung on the television special VH1 Divas Live 2, which aired in March 1999. According to VH1, it was the most popular, and most watched program in the television network's history, as Cher's presence was "a huge part of making it exactly that." The Do You Believe? Tour ran from 1999 to 2000 and was sold-out in every American city it was booked in, amassing a global audience of more than 1.5 million. : The Do You Believe Tour? ran from 1999 to 2000 and was sold-out in every American city it was booked in; : The tour amassing a global audience of more than 1.5 million. Its companion television special, Cher: Live in Concert - From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was the highest rated original HBO program in 1998–99 and received seven Emmy Award nominations. : Cher: Live in Concert - From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as the highest rasted original HBO program in its past two years; : The special receiving seven Emmy Award nominations. Later in 1999, Cher released the compilation album The Greatest Hits, which reached number one on German and Australian charts. Geffen Records compiled its own If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits, certified gold by the RIAA. }} Cher's next film was Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini (1999). Although it got mixed reviews, she received critical accolades for her performance as a rich, flamboyant American socialite whose visit to Italy is not welcome among the Englishwomen; one reviewer from Film Comment wrote, "It is only after she appears that you realize how sorely she's been missed from movie screens! For Cher is a star. That is, she manages the movie star trick of being at once a character and at the same time never allowing you to forget: that's Cher." 2000s: Musical stardom, touring success and Vegas residency , one of the highest-grossing tours of all time]] In 2000, Cher released an independent album titled Not.com.mercial, written mostly by her after attending a songwriters' conference in 1994; it marked Cher's first attempt at writing most of the tracks for an album. Because the album was rejected by her record label for being uncommercial, she chose to sell it only on her website. In the song "Sisters of Mercy", she calls the Catholic nuns who cared for her when she was a child "cruel, heartless and wicked" for keeping her in their orphanage long after her mother attempted to retrieve her; church leaders quickly issued denouncements. In November 2000, Cher's cameo appearance on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace in the episode "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" earned the show its second-highest rating ever. }} Cher's highly anticipated dance-oriented follow-up to Believe, Living Proof (2001), entered the Billboard 200 at number nine, her highest-charting album debut to date. : Living Proof as the highly anticipated dance-oriented follow-up to Believe; : the album entering the Billboard 200 at number nine, her highest-charting album debut to date. Tracks from Living Proof became club hits.Cher Discography at Discogs. Discogs.com (1946-05-20). Retrieved on 2013-02-14. The album's first American single, "Song for the Lonely", was dedicated to "the courageous people of New York" following the September 11 attacks. The song "Love One Another" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Cher performed during the benefit concert VH1 Divas Las Vegas in May 2002. Later that year, she won the Dance/Club Play Artist of the Year Award at the Billboard Music Awards. Her wealth in 2002 was estimated at $600 million. In June 2002, Cher embarked on the Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, announced as the final live concert tour of her career, although she vowed to continue making records and films. : Farewell Tour starting in June 2002; : Cher announcing the Farewell Tour as her last and vowing to continue making more records and films. The show highlighted her successes in music, television, and film, featuring video clips from the 1960s onwards and an elaborate backdrop and stage set-up.Summary of the Farewell Tour: * ; * Initially scheduled for 49 shows, the worldwide tour was extended several times. : the worldwide tour was initially scheduled for 49 shows; : the tour was extended several times. The NBC special Cher - The Farewell Tour (2003) attracted 17 million viewers. It was the highest rated network-TV concert special of 2003 and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special. : Cher - The Farewell Tour as the highest rated network-TV concert special of 2003; : the special winning a Primetime Emmy Award. }} After leaving Warner UK in 2002, Cher signed a worldwide deal with the US division of Warner Bros. Records in September 2003. The Very Best of Cher (2003), a greatest-hits collection that surveys her entire career, peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. : Release of The Very Best of Cher and its number-four peak on the Billboard 200; : Double platinum certification for the album. Cher played herself in the Farrelly Brothers' comedy Stuck on You (2003), mocking her public image as she appears in bed with a much younger boyfriend. }} Her three-year, 325-date Farewell Tour ended in April 2005 as the highest-grossing music tour by a female artist at the time. : The Farewell Tour as the highest-grossing music tour by a female artist by 2005; : her three-year, 325-date tour ending in April 2005. In 2008, Cher began a three-year, 200-performance residency at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, for which she earned a reported $60 million per year. Cher at the Colosseum featured 16 dancers and aerialists, state-of-the-art video, special effects, and elaborate set designs. 2010s: Film return and upcoming projects Cher returned to film in the musical ''Burlesque'' (2010), playing a nightclub impresario whom a young Hollywood hopeful is looking to impress. One of the two songs she recorded for the film's soundtrack, the Diane Warren-penned power ballad "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. : Golden Globe Award for "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me"; : Cher recorded two songs for the film's soundtrack. Cher lent her voice to the comedy Zookeeper in 2011. The next year, she began working on her first studio album since 2001's Living Proof. She announced plans to embark on a concert tour, which she has dubbed the Never Can Say Goodbye Tour. In June 2012, the singer revealed that a Broadway musical based on her life and music was currently in development. She said that she may play herself in the show. On November 22, 2012, Cher debuted "Woman's World", the lead track from her upcoming new studio album, originally due to be released in March 2013. "Woman's World" will be released to contemporary hit radio in June of 2013. At the end of February 2013, Cher made an announcement on Twitter that the record company rescheduled the album's release for September.